Wasted county worker''s rampage carves trail of destruction through N.J. town, cops say

An intoxicated Bergen County worker smashed a parks department pickup truck into the roof of a parking deck - causing the ceiling to rip away - before he fled that crash and slammed into 10 vehicles Wednesday near bustling downtown Ridgewood, authorities said.

Daniel Brancato faces a slew of traffic and drug charges in the mayhem that unfolded around 2:30 p.m. The 22-year-old employee drove the county truck out of a parking deck at an East Ridgewood Avenue building, near Maple Avenue, but the vehicle was too high and it hit the roof, police said.

That mishap allegedly didn’t stop Brancato.

“The truck caused heavy damage to the ceiling of the parking garage and struck multiple vehicles that were parked in the garage,” police said in a statement.

As he fled, the truck hit more cars along East Ridgewood Avenue toward the village’s bustling busy shopping district, according to authorities. Officers caught up with the Emerson resident about four blocks away at the Prospect Street parking lot, ending the spree of wreckage.

Read more: https://www.nj.com/bergen/2019/01/hammered-county-workers-midday-truck-rampage-carves-trail-of-destruction-through-tony-north-jersey-town-cops-say.html